Tips for taking your machine out of storage this spring

Finally Spring! It comes every year but we always think winter will never end. For many of you, it’s about this time that you take your pressure washers out of storage. Here are a few helpful tips for doing just that.

If your machine has a float tank:

After your machine sits for an extended period of time, your pump head may be dry and your pick up hose that goes into your float tank is likely empty. Often your pump will be able to suck the air out and self prime itself to a point where it’s getting water back up to itself. But many times this doesn’t happen. What you need to do then is take the pick up hose out of the float tank and force feed water into it with a garden hose while running the pump, after you get good pressure you can put the hose back in your float tank and you’re ready to go.

Hot water machines:

If your machine has been sitting for a long time dry, rust commonly develops in your coil and upon start up in spring, you can get little chunks of rust clogging up your nozzle. It’s best to run the machine for half a minute or so without the nozzle to flush out any debris, then pop the nozzle back in and you’re ready to go. If your nozzle still gets clogged, take a torch cleaner and poke it clean.

All machines:

Check for leaks when you run the machine for the first time in spring. If the ideal winterization process was not done correctly in fall (we’ll have another blog post in fall describing the ideal way to winterize your machine) many of your machine parts likely dried up. When this happens, leaks can be very prevalent. There are primarily two kinds of leaks, either water leaks out of your machine or air leaks into it. Both leaks need attention from one of our technicians so your machine runs properly and maintains the longevity it is designed to have.

How to tell if the machine froze:

If you have a large water leak, cracked fittings or there is water leaking out of the bottom of your pump when you’re running the machine, it is likely your machine froze while it was in storage. It’s best to shut the machine off immediately if you notice any of these. Problems arising from machines freezing can be very costly but having a technician look at it right away before you get to using it can lessen the costs.

If you need a service technician to look at your machine, you can bring your machine to our main shop at 8919 N. 55th St. in Brown Deer or give us a call at 800.603.1001 to schedule a service technician to come out to you.